Heating system.



F. L RICE. HEATING SYSTEM.

APPLIGATION FILED MAY 13. 190e.

Patented Apr. 1, 1913.

2 SHEETS-SHEET Z.

itsentirety;relatesto4 both the system andV -IFKAN haaren,

Tomll whoriflmdyonoer." Beitlinoivn that 1, FRANK L. RICE, a citi- 'Jf""Unted". States, residing at Chiilty-ofC-ook and State of ntedcertainnew and usem.

1n`Heating Systems," of fo Wing'is a specification.

' the present' invention rey -including radiators, for l 'ildingbytheuse of either steam atei-'eas a circulating medium.r eerall"`stat`ed`,`,the invention relates in A ystem asa'whole, and inpart uctiono'f'rad'iators adapted for l, I y's'tenifor accomplishing thegenerahobject tof thdi'nvention which is to automaticallyregulate'thetemperature of each radi"I tofiidpendently of every other" radi-Stern'l' beforest'ated, the ,invention in the. ons'tiu'ction'of ltheradiators, the present application: co"ers,`by itsv claims, only thenovel'fea'tures ofthe system, lthe novel fea- 'f tlie radiator beingmadethe subject i avvareflt'lhat' priorltor-my invention itwas@01net-"to provide a he'ating system, in which eitherlsteam'or hotwater could be usedflas a feirculjating'medium, kcomprising amainheater" or,I [boiler y( hereinafter 'called "a' boilerfonefor more"radiators located at any A. desired..pi1ts,afsystem of pipes includinga supply pipefleading'from the top of the boiler to thel radiator orvradiators return pipesleadingf'froni'the radiator or radiators back to7the'lot-ver` portion of the boiler, an

radiatorsffo'rgheating'it, such systems being prtiv'id'ednvvavlyes'forcontrolling the ciry. culatio off thelieat-ing'-inedium.lVith such a system' any Aone the radiators maybe heated ff'from themain vboiler alone,I independent-ly "ofi individual'tgas heater, or itmaybe heated its individual gas heater independentlylpf thejboiler or itmay be heatedbqtli the boiler 'and its individual,heaterfandfbylhandling or manipulating thefsystein in theseyvariouswa'ys the temperatureof. eachradjiator ,may be controlled withincertain"liiriits,l For example, in mild '5s or' 'Chiny'maths-wlan itisaesirea to are vered' by a. companion application c expansion.tankfconununicatingmore or lessV EATINYG sYsrizivi.` ,i f

HIeAGoi'l-I-LLINOIS, fA-ooRPORArIoN oisarnLI-ivors..y t

I .d .speeiflaaonlof Lettersratent.. .Patented-Apr. l1;, 119137.?waliplica'fiionnieariray1s,1909( seriammsaasa' the chill olf of a'particular room, the radi` ator 1n it may be heated by its individualgas heater, Without making use of the main boller. Againin moderatelycold Weather,

when itv desired to heatp'racticall'y the `Whole bulldmg at an equabletemperature,

the mam boiler may be used Without mak-` ing use of the gas heaters ofindividual radiators. Again there may be and usually is a room (orrooms) of a building which in eX- tremely cold Weather is not adequatelyheat- .ed by the. main boiler and in such cases the heating oftheradiator in. it by the mainv boiler may be augmented by the' additionaluse of its individual gas heater. But even with these provisions, all ofwhich must be controlled manually and none of whichis maintain any givenroom ata given temperature and prevent its fluctuation.

I ani also aware that the main boilers in such systems have beenprovided with thermostatlc regulators of various constructions directlyexposed to and regulated by the temperature of the circulatingmediumautomatic, it is 'impossible to uniformly ,l

is no provision for separately and independl ently regulatingthetemp'erature of each individual radiator, in order to meet the re!quirements and conditions which exist in the different roomsi11"whicl1`tl1e radiators are placed respectively. Furthermore Whetherthe boiler be provided Witha regulator orfnot, it is seldom desirable in`only chilly Weather to maintain heat in the boiler,

'becausethis necessarily entails a Waste. y I am also aware that 1nheating systems in Which'a number of radiators Without individualheaters were 'incorporated 1n a system of circulating pipes leading outfron and back to the boiler whereby all of said radiators were heated bysteam generated in thev boiler it was old to provide each radiator Withan individual thermostatic regulator -Whereby the temperature oftheradiator as produced by the heater Was automatically lregulated. But sofar as l am aware such system had no provision for either entirelydispensing with the use of the boiler and in dividually heating anyvgiven radiator.

I am aware that individual radiators,- having no provision whatever forincorporating them in a circulating system, have' with its temperature,and, in turn, regulatedI the quantity of fuel supplied to the burner, sothat the regulator was operated by pressure produced by the expansion ofa fluid as distinguished from being operated by the pressure produced bythe expansion of the tliermostatic element of the regulator, saidelement, according tofthe present invention, being in direct contactwith the heat circulating medium within the radiator.

While admitting all the foregoing, still, I, believe myselfy to be`- thefirst to propose to provide a ,heating system having a system o'fupipes,a plurality ofY radiators and an expansionk tank incorporated in saidpipe system,A each radiator lhaving an individual heating buinerllocated in proximity to it,

and la tlierniostatic regulator directly ei;l

posed to` and operated by the circulating.

.medium within the. radiator for automaticallyq controlling the supplyof gas or other,

combustible iiuid to the burner whereby the.

temperature ofthe radiator is self-regu-y lated and, whereby theradiatormay be used l in either ofthree ways, namely; first, by-

supplying :itwith heat fromtlie main boiler alone, second,' bysupplyingitg with heat from its individual. heater alone; third, bysupplying itwithfheatby both the main l i boiler ,and its individual.heater together.

ATo provide agpraetical; andl efficient radiator that will vmeet Iallofthese vrequirements is the .object ofthe pi'esentinvention and to thisVend the said'inventio-n consists inthe features of novelty that are,hereinafter described with ieferenceto the accompanying drawings,whiclnare lmade a part ofvthis specification, andin which v:

Figure 1 is an, elevation of a'lieating sysv tem adapted for use witheither steamer hot water as the ycirculating medium, ingwhicliy tworadiators, one of whichv has all of the several featuresofthe-invention, are incorporated. Fig. 2 is.a ,.-heating.systeni ofmodified construction in which t-w'o ra diat,ors

embodying the invention areincorporated,y Fig. 3. yiS. 1,11 `elevationof-a. heating system.

onlyv one radiator embodyingl the invention l is incorporated.Fig.,liee-vertical longi:

tudinal section, on a larger scale, of a radi- Apipe, E, communicates.

ofthese two forins of radiators.

,elevated expansion tank being us'ed.

ator embodying the invention in its preferred form, the plane of'-thesecti'o'n'" being I indicated by the line4-4, Fig. 5. Fig. 5 is avertical transverse section thereof in two planes which'are indicated bythe lines 5-5 and :5a-5a, respectively, Fig. 4. Fig. 6 is a verticalsection of a radiator ofl modified construction and embodying only 'somefeatures of` the invention, the plane of the section being indicated bythe line 66,Fig. 7.

Fig. 7 is a horizontal section thereof on the line 7-7, Fig. 6.

The system shown in Fig.. 1` comprises,alV main heater or boiler, A, asupply pipe, B,.-

leading from the upperpart of the boiler and connected through branchpipes, B and B., with one ormore radiators, C and C', located upon afloor o'rle'yel higher than that of the boiler, a return ipe, D, leadinfrom the bottoms of the radiators to the ottorny .of the boiler, apipe,: E, leading upward from the bottom of the boiler, and .an open'expansion tanlnF, located at a level higher than the highest radiator,with which the The radiators of the system shown in Fig. l are ofdifferent;

constructions and arediiferently connected up in the circulating system.Inthe vcase oftheradiator, C, the branch siipply pipe,

B', enters the bottom of theradiator and is `provided with a valve b,while in the casel yof the radiator Cf the branch ysupply pipe B entersthe top of the radiator and is pro-1 In both instances vided with avalve b. y the branches D and D, respectively, of-

the return pipe D lead from the bottoinsof.`

the radiators and in the case of the radiator C the supply and return.branches enter the radiator at opposite ends, respectively, while,

in the case of the-radiator Cf they both enter the radiator at the saineend. These are,

however, details with which kthe present inf, vention is notconcernedandhere it may beV be used as a eirculating'medium with either observedthat either steaiii orhot water may The system shown in Fig. 2 differsfrom thatshownin Fig. l inthat ithas provision for only a single pipeconnection, D2, andI this pipe connection v-forms a continuation of thepipe E leading ,to the elevatedexpan- 'l sion tank F, no ina-in boilerbeing used either in the pipe connection between the radiator land theexpansionltank, 0r elsewhere.,

source of` water .supply underpres'sure, no,y

each instance theradiatorisprovided attlie top with a" "ient valve, c ofai'iydesired con:`

struction which valve vis inaiiipulatedin such mannery as Aiiiaybenecessary 1iii', o'i d`er to meet4 the requirements accor dingly assteam or rio" hotgavatergls useiasta circulating medium. In,eac h`instance the returnpipe will permittheabalckflow,votivater. from'theradia-torlin ordervr tocompensate, lfor any :injurious `reX-lcessypressure' that ,may bev produced wWithin the radiatonas a result ofover heating, and

h'ence each of the pipeconnections, D D oraDZ, .asthecasefmay be, 'hasmore than one vfunction. The' pipeconnectionsJD` andDf ofFig..lserveaj's'aTeturn pipe in a continu'ous,circulatingg'system and also. as areliefpipe .fonfcompensating for excess pressure.,iln=,theflatterns'tance the Water will r` be-forced ,out of Lthe radiator `at thebottom thereof', intofand; through the main boiler andthence. upward to"the expansion tank.

, The lf-pipe connections D2 of the systems showny-inFigs.,,2-and 3sel-'ve as inlets into theV radiators-and, also as relief pipes, the

Water lexpelled fromffthe radiators 1n the systemxshown inlFig. 2being'forced back into the pipeco'nnection Withthe elevated expansiontank, while in the system shown .L lin Fig..:3 itsi's forced .back intothe supply main so that, in`y neither instance 'can i the pressure fin ithe radiator exceed the pressure oithefhydrostaticwcolumn produced bythe "elevatedexp'anslon tank or-the vpressure in lThe'l form.offradiator which is preferred in@carryingv out-the` presentinventlon,1s in Flgs. l, land 5'. Its

, provisionrtfor. pipe connections enables it lto the systems abovedescribed, :and- 4When' .properly equipped with its individual heaterand-.With its individual `thermostaticregulator the temperature ofeaclian'devery room may be individually regulated to a nicety.` 4It ismade up of va number of loops o-r sections, G,each of which comprisesone or morehollow columns, H, and the several sections are connected attop and bottom respectively through the medium of sleeves or nipples Iand I. Where each section comprises more than one column the columns ofeach sectionare`connected at top and bottom respectively by headers Jand J therebyT providing for a complete circulation of the circulatingmedium Within the radiator. The several sec- .1 tionshave verticalopenings, bet-Ween 4,the several columns so as to facilitate the cirlvAculation of air around the several columns its ,inner end andhavingat-its outer enfla'n enlarged casing,y O', which. carries aseat for y "avalve, .1?, between the branches N and Aof thengas .supply pipe. This`valve carriedby a rod, Pf, located in the interior of the pipe or tube"Oand has its inner end permanently secured tothe inner end ofthe saidtube or pipe, the tube or pipe O andthe -rodP being mad-e of materialsofditferent, yexptlnsibility, the tube `beingdtofi .greateinexfpansibility and more sensitiveto theflieat.

than is the rod, so that, the tube. beingper-` manently secured at itsouter end to the end sectlon of the radiator, 1ts expansion andcontract-ion will carry the rod inwardly and.

outwardly, and thereby move the valve to Ward and from its seat,respectivelyfoThe thermostat thus constructed,,preferably enters thelower header vJ of thegend section -of the radiator and passes into andthrough any' desired number of the'nipples I which connect the lowerheaders, but the invention, in its broadestaspect, is not. limited to athermostat of this particular'construction,

arrangement Aor location. 4On the contrary, Y

the invention comprehends, in its broadest aspect,va thermostat of anyconstruction, arrangement or location so long as it is directly exposedto the heat Aofthe radiator forcentrolling the flow of., gas to theburner Whereby 'the temperature of the radiator is self regulated.y

ranged longitudinally beneath the lower headersof the several sectionsof the radiator and provided with perforations for the escape of gas, atwhich the gas burns, the burner being preferably provided Wit-h anigniting jet 7c, at. which the gas is ignited through an opening l inthe front of the 'combustion chamber.

Preferably the combustion chamber is constructed as shown in Figs. 4 and5. As there shown the lower headers J have flat vertical meetingsurfaces and their under surfaces which are Hush Wit-h each otherthroughout' the entire length of the radiator, form the top Wall of thechamber. The end sections of the radiator have depending webs G whichform the end Walls of the chamber, and the several intermediate sectionshave at front and back depending webs G2, which form the upper portionsof the front and rear Walls of the chamber. The bottom of the chamber isformed by a sheet metal plate Q which is provided, beneath the burner,Wit-h a series of perforations g for admitting atmosphere to the burner,and the bottom sheet has upwardly extending portions Q which lie againstthe inner surfaces of the Webs G2 and complete the front and rear Wallsof the chamber, lugs g being formed on the Webs G ofthe end sections, atfront and back, to form supporting feet and also The burner itselfconsists of a tube arscribed, excepting that as shown in Figs.l

to form shoulders for supporting the sheet metal plate of which thefront, back and bot? tom ofthe combustion chamber are formed. .Thecoinbustionchamber shown in Figs. Gand 7 is constructed precisely asabove de- G andf? the lower headers J are provided intheirmeeting faceswith oppositely lo- "'".cated grooves j, so" that when the adjacentrheaders are placed in contact with each other these grooves formlvert-ical passages through which 'the heated fair or products ofconibustionfmay passl-'ifupward between the sev-v `Aeral Vsectionsoit'.` :the radiator and thereby increase the surface exposed to theheated product-s of combustionv which pass upward throughsaid'passagesand bet-Ween the several columns of the radiators and eventuallyf-escape from vthe radiator into the room,

while as'shown in Figs. 4 and 5 the'lower header-sections have bottomsurfacesv that arevfiusliwitheach other, as above described, 'so' thatthe heated products of combustion cannotescape upward through theradiator.

In-r this'instance the products of combustion are ycarried Aoff by astaclcl or Hue RA `com= municating 'with the back of the combustionchai'iibei'. If the burner 4were centrally lo- ;lcated where the exhaustvstack orfiue` is used,

the tendency of t-he exhaust tlue'wouldl be to draw theheated productsofcombustion directly away from the burner and thereby prevent itsintimate lcontact with 'the bot- 'toms of the lower header-sections. `Topreber, leaving a` slight space s through which portion S extending fromthe top' of thebridge wall, rearward, to within a short distanceof-the'wall ofthe combustion cham'- the products of combustion lmay passydownward from -thespace above Ithe -deflector'in order to reach theflue.

lVhat I claim :is-new and -desiret'o 'secure by Letters Patent is: l. Aheating system having, in combination, a lsysteinof circulatingpipesand, incorporated therein, aymain boiler, anexpan# sin tanl, and aplurality of radiators,1 an individualheater arran'ged in proximity toeach of'said radiators, and 'afthermostatic'i regulator forcontrolling-the vsupply' .of fuel to" each of /said individual heaters,said .thermostatic regulators being 'located in proximity-to theirrespective radiators "soli-as-` tov be directly exposed -toandi operatedby:` ,thev heat thereof, whereby the 'temperature o'the radiator isself-regulative. u' 2.A A heating syst-em having,fin combina# tion, asystem of circulating'pipes ad,"in' corporated therein, a mai'n boiler,-fan exlt'ian-ll sion tank, anda plurality vof radiators, an individualheater arranged-i in fproximitywo each of said radiatorsandathermostatic regulator for cont-rollingthe supply of fuel 70 to each ofsaid individualheater'sj the :thermostatic` element-s ofthfeareguhlatorsrbeirig in directg-cniitact---vitlr theheat""'dirculafting medium r1"within l"the radiators, respectively,f'.whereby the regulator-responds vquickly toj7-.,k changes in tlieltemperature 'of said circula-" tive medium. f

